Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: August 30, 2019
Price:
Genre: Synergetic Action
Players: 1-2
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Director: Takahisa Taura
DESCRIPTION:
Astral Chain is set in a near-future cyberpunk metropolis called
the Ark, which is invaded by
Chimeras appearing from mysterious dimensional gates leading to the Astral Plane. To combat the threat, the Ark police form a special task force called
Neuron, and employ the use of living weapons known as the
Legion.
The player takes on the role of a rookie Neuron officer and their Legion to work together to solve cases, and save humanity.
STORY:
In 2043, a meteorite collision with the Earth caused wormholes to suddenly appear, polluting the land and ultimately rendering 90% of the Earth uninhabitable. The survivors gathered on a huge artificial island known as
the Ark, and prepared for the reconstruction of humanity.
While the Ark had stayed peaceful as a massive multicultural metropolis for some time, disaster struck however when a number of small wormhole "gates" leading to the Astral Plane suddenly appeared within the city, bringing dangerous alien creatures known as
chimeras which pollute the people and land with Red Matter, and try to pull them into the mysterious Astral Plane beyond the gates.
In response to the threat, humanity established the
Neuron task force, and developed the
Legion, a special living weapon created by capturing a chimera, neutralizing it with armor, and neurologically syncing it to a human operator through a "chain".
Only a few people are chosen to wield the Legion technology, and the
protagonist is one of those few. As a rookie Neuron officer, the protagonist and their Legion partners work together to investigate and solve cases, and save humanity from the chimeric invaders.
GAMEPLAY:
Legions are at the centre of Astral Chain's gameplay. A Legion can be summoned by pressing [ZL], and will stay summoned for 100 seconds, after which it will be unsummonable for 3 seconds until the meter has recharged. The Legion will attack on its own, but can be moved around by holding [ZL] and moving the right control stick, which can allow for some control over who the Legion is attacking.
While summoned, the Legion can be used both in battle, and for puzzle-solving or investigative purposes.
By moving the control stick to move the Legion in a circle around a target, the chain binding the player and the Legion will wrap around the target to restrain them in place for a few seconds, and moving the chain to be in front of a charging enemy will disrupt the attack, sending them flying backwards. Wrapping the chain around a gate to the Astral Plane will destroy the gate. The player can also pull themself towards the Legion using the chain, to reach areas across long gaps which only the Legion can clear.
Legions are capable of cleaning up
Red Matter, destroying gates to the Astral Plane and they also grant a very high tolerance to Red Matter to their users. Additionally, being in control of a Legion allows the user to be able to see Red Matter, Legions, and chimeras, which ordinary people cannot. This capacity to interact with the Astral Plane and those that come from it is likely due to the Legion's nature as a captured chimera.
LEGIONS:
Astral Chain has five Legion types that you're able to switch between on the fly to pull off the stylish combos that PlatinumGames are known for. Furthermore, each Legion has their own specific fighting style and some even have abilities which can help during investigations. Each Legion type can be upgraded through their respective skill trees.
SWORD LEGION:
The sword legion is a melee-oriented legion that specializes in continuous attacks with its two swords.
The sword legion can be used to slice and dice enemies that get in your way. You can enter a mode similar to Raiden's Blade Mode in Metal Gear Rising with time slowing down around you making it easier for you to perform lethally accurate cuts to your enemies.
Outside of combat, the Sword Legion can pierce a sword into electronics such as cameras, analyse any absorbed data and use said data to obtain any relevant information that can be used for the current investigation at hand.
ARROW LEGION:
The Arrow Legion is a long-ranged oriented legion that fights with a bow and can launch energy arrows at your foes.
Using the Arrow Legion's bow, you can aim and directly attack the weakpoints of your foes. The Arrow Legion also allows you to activate distant switches allowing you to proceed in levels.
While aiming with the Arrow Legion's bow, time will slow down making it easier to attack faster moving objects and enemies.
BEAST LEGION:
The Beast Legion is a high-mobility legion that dishes out large amounts of physical damage while bobbing and weaving in and out of combat.
You can mount the Beast Legion at any time which can be great to simply traverse the world but can also come in handy when facing large bosses and extra movement speed is needed.
Outside of combat, you can provide the Beast Legion with the smell of an item to which it will then search for this specific item and dig it out of the ground. When roaming the world, the Beast Legion will also stumble upon random items and dig them out for you.
ARM LEGION:
The Arm Legion is a heavy-hitter legion that is based around pummelling your foes with its fists close-up and shooting said fists out to damage enemies at range.
The protagonist can combine with the Arm Legion for a bit to dish out heavier damage and meatier combos. Furthermore, the Arm Legion can grab enemies and pull them towards you making combos a lot easier to pull off.
The Arm Legion has the ability to shoot one of its fists out to an enemy at range to damage them.
Outside of combat, the Arm Legion can be used to open heavy doors and other things that are blocking your way.
AXE LEGION:
The Axe Legion is a specialist legion that combines attack and defense into one. The Axe Legion can summon an energy field to surround and protect itself. This energy field can also surround the protagonist providing them with a means to defend themselves against attacks that would otherwise damage and stagger them.
Be careful however, this energy field doesn't last forever!
The Axe Legion can stab the ground with its gauntlet-shaped weapon and inject energy into the vicinity, causing an explosion in small AoE. This can come in handy when facing off against multiple opponents at once and the need for crowd control arises.
There are certain barriers in the Astral Plane that only the Axe Legion can interact with.
BATTLE:
Astral Chain is a synergetic action game. You're expected to control not only the Protagonist, but also their Legion at the same time. If you press ZL, you can summon your Legion. Once your Legion is summoned in combat, they will look for the nearest enemy and begin attacking automatically.
However, if you hold ZL down and move the right joystick, you can move the Legion around and have precise control as to who they attack.
While the Legions are the real stars of combat in this game, the Protagonist is not to be underestimated. They can attack enemies using their baton and their blaster pistol. Furthermore, they can dodge to avoid enemy attacks and position themselves better on the battlefield.
Legions cannot stay summoned forever. After being summoned for a while, Legions will dissipate for a few seconds before being available to be summoned again.
When summoning your Legion, a chain bind will be present linking both you and your Legion together. However, this chain does have a practical use, too! You can enclose and bind objects or enemies if you were to wrap this chain around them. This involves circling said enemy or object with both the Protagonist and Legion.
It's worth mentioning that this can be performed on multiple enemies at once provided they're close to each other and the chain can wrap around them.
Once enemies are bound by this chain, they will not be able to move or attack for a few seconds which gives you ample time to pummel into them and finish them off.
If certain conditions are met in a fight, you can perform a special dual attack with your Legion called Sync Attacks that let you dish out immense damage. Use this to your advantage as they will become a crucial cornerstone in your moveset when facing stronger enemies!
IRIS:
IRIS (Integrated Reality Imaging System) is a mixed reality system that overlays information for Neuron officers in real time. This is crucial for solving cases as it highlights important objects, objectives and clues in the environment for you to investigate similar to how Detective Mode functions in the Batman: Arkham games. IRIS allows you to project previous incidents caught on camera and interact with them in real-time to investigate a crime scene.
FEATURES:
While Astral Chain is largely level-based for the story content, it features an open-ended city hub environment called Harmony Square which you can explore any time you aren't on a story mission. This hub is where various side missions are conducted and miscellaneous activities such as cleaning up trash and arresting criminals is done.
Remember that while you're a Neuron officer that fights interdimensional beings, you still have to respect the law! Crossing the street when the lights aren't green will get you fined and civilians will scold you if you do un-cop-like things such as littering the game world.
Ark HQ is a large complex that is freely explorable too. Well… only the basement where Neuron is located… You can access the training facilities here to practice with your Legion. You can also talk to your allies and access medical supplies should the need arise.
Astral Chain features various high-speed linear segments where you race to objectives using your motorcycle. During these high-speed segments, various Chimeras will attack you. Your bike is equipped with a machine gun to dispatch with these enemies as you safely get to your objective.
Director Takahisa Taura has stated that Astral Chain is meant to serve as a middle ground between NieR: Automata and Bayonetta.
CHARACTERS:
The Protagonist/Akira Howard:
The Protagonist of Astral Chain is one of two twin police officers working as a rookie member of the Neuron task force. The name of the Protagonist is chosen by the player. The player can choose between a male and female Protagonist with the option not chosen appearing as the younger twin and closest squadmate of the Protagonist. The name of this younger sibling is Akira Howard.
On the 25th of November, 2058, 20 years prior to the game's events, the Protagonist and their twin sibling were born and shortly after orphaned during a disaster. They were taken in by Maxmillian Howard, a police officer, and recruited into the Neuron task force when they reached the age of 20.
Maximilian Howard:
Maximilian is the captain of the Neuron task force and a respected veteran Legionis. He took both you and Akira in at a young age and is a good adoptive father. A strong leader, he is trusted by the team. While concerned for you and Akira's safety, he's happy to have you two on the force.
Yoseph Calvert:
Yoseph Calvert is the commander of Neuron and oversees all activities conducted by the task force. Yoseph is described as being a genius scientist, as well as usually being quiet and calm but having a strong conviction on the inside. He is committed to dealing with the Chimera menace
Jin Wong:
Jin is an experienced Legionis and a member of the Neuron task force alongside the Protagonist. Jin acts as a trainer and advisor to you and Akira. He's known you both since you were children and is a long time acquaintance of Captain Maximilian Howard.
Alicia Lopez:
Alicia is a no-nonsense veteran Legionis and member of the Neuron task force alongside the protagonist. She's known Captain Max for years and never wastes an opportunity to give him a hard time. She has quite the sharp tongue, after all.
Olive Espinosa:
Once a TV newscaster, Olive volunteered to join the Neuron task force to fight the contamination invading the ark. While not a Legionis, she supports members out on the field with information directly from headquarters.
Brenda Moreno:
One of the scientists involved in the research and development of the Legion technlology. Dr. Moreno also serves as the doctor for the Neuron task force and is in charge of making sure Neuon members are healthy and fit for duty.
Marie Wentz:
Officer Wentz was recruited onto the understaffed Neuron task force as an office manager. She does everything from cleaning the hallways and filing paperwork…and occasionally seems to just disappear…
Lappy:
The mascot character for the Ark police force. Cute and determined to pull off a good job! He gives helpful tours of the police station and will sometimes visit Neuron headquarters in the basement to heal its members. Woof!!
Jena Anderson:
Jena Anderson is a mysterious woman of unknown motive who appears as a major adversary to the Protagonist and the Neuron task force in ASTRAL CHAIN. She has the ability to separate from human beings, and transform part of her body into weapon-like appendages to eliminate her foes.
Kyle Merklov:
Kyle Merklov is the leader of a group of young hackers residing in the abandoned District 09, who took over the role after the disappearance of the previous leader and founder of the group. He has greater physical and hacking abilities than other members of the group.
Hal:
A highly modified drone that collects information around the Ark. The pilot's identity is unknown.
FAQ:
Q: Does this game support dual audio?
A: Yes. You can switch between the English dub or original Japanese audio track with English subtitles at any time
Q: Can I create my own character in this game?
A: ASTRAL CHAIN allows you to create your own character at the start. Customize their hair, face and skin tone. Changing your characters skin tone will also change the skin tone of your sibling.
Q: How does local co-op work in this game?
A: One person controls the Legion, the other controls the Protagonist.
Q: Will this game feature story DLC?
A: No story DLC is planned right now.
Q: Can I customize the Protagonist with new clothes?
A: Yes, you can.
Q: Can I pet the cat?
A: Yes, you can pet the cats.